Bachelor Girl

by Roger Lea MacBride and Roger McBride

Book Overview

The eighth and final installment in the Rose Years series, which tells the story of the spirited daughter of the author of the beloved Little House series.

Rose Wilder has become an independent young woman. She leaves Rocky Ridge Farm, first for Kansas City to learn how to be a telegrapher, then for San Francisco. Her dream is to work for a year or two, save a little money, and then marry Paul Cooley, her childhood sweetheart...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0064406911
• ISBN13: 9780064406918
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Excellent portrayal of a young woman...seeing the real world

I think " bachelor girl" is excellent. It manages to portray an young adult's frustrations and dilemas almost accurately. The way Rose felt frustrated about not doing anything useful, when she lived with her parents and then her struggle to work and support herself...May be this book is not appealing to children as it deals mostly with an young adult's mind... and even the temporary loss of confidence in Rose is perfectly natural as any young and intellectual adult will go through that phase atleast once. I'm very impressed with this book.

A wonderful end to a wonderful series

If anyone out there has hesitated to read the Rose Wilder Lane entries into the extended Little House family as they felt as I once did they would be pale copies of the original series, please don't hesitate any longer! This series has a voice of its own, and is very, very well written. I wish it was longer. I loved this last book. Rose is very different than Laura and in fact I think most women of her day. She is very strong willed and intelligent, and determined to make her own way in the world. I was especially struck by the descriptions of the early day of her life both in Kansas City and San Francisco---just how lonely and desolate life could be for a career girl starting out in those days, and how strong she was to persevere. Her growing awareness in this book that the life she always saw for herself---as a contented wife to Paul in a small world---is not really what she wants is very well done. The message sent to girls who might read this book is powerful. I also very much liked the way this series "grew up" like the original series. This last book is quite adult, though certainly not inappropriate for those who also read the early ones.

A stunning portrait of a young woman ahead of her time

This is an amazingly relevant portrait of a young woman striking out on her own at a time when young women were expected either to marry or stay at home and become old maids. Like her mother, Laura, Rose was a pioneer but in this case an urban pioneer seeking her own identity in a world that was often hostile toward ambitious women. I highly recommend this to adults as well as young adults, and the earlier books which are a living history lesson in life a century ago. Read "New Dawn on Rocky Ridge" for a devastatingly beautiful portrait of the death of Pa Ingalls in Laura's arms.

A fine ending for a Missouri farm girl's adventures

I really enjoyed "Bachelor Girl". Even though it is the last book of the Rose series, I feel that the story could go on longer, but it had to end sometime I guess. Rose even met her future husband Gillette Lane in this book. He had hazel eyes like I do. At first it seemed that he must have been coming on too strong for Rose, but later on she felt(I think)that she loved him. As for the other adventures in this book, the woman that she was livng with, I thought was trying to interfere with Rose's life. Rose finally decided to leave Kansas City and arrived in San Francisco.

A wonderful closing to a wonderful series...

A great ending to a great pioneer series. Rose has grown up within our eyes as we were first introduced to her life in 1993.It saddens me that Roger Lea MacBride is no longer with us to write more stories of Rose's life. It seems I grew up with her within the past 8 years, reading of her time of life and her thoughts about life. What also saddens me the most about reading this book was the aftermath of Rose's and Paul's relationship.Therefore, Rose had followed her heart thoughout her hardships which only made her a stronger person. Like her mother Laura, her life touched us all.